Leading Manufacturers Form Alliance to Deliver Safe, Interoperable Appliances

By Abraham Joseph -

4 January 2022 – Seven leading manufacturers in the connected home space today announced the launch of the Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA) to provide consumers with safer, simpler and more interoperable options in their connected home.

The seven founding members of the HCA are:

• American Standard Heating and Air Conditioning
• Arçelik
• The Electrolux Group
• Haier
• GE Appliances
• Samsung, and
• Trane Residential

Device interoperability to expand consumer choice

HCA’s goal is to provide consumers with more choices for their connected home through C2C (Cloud-to-Cloud) interoperability, supporting the compatibility of devices across brands.

Yoon Ho Choi, President, Home Connectivity Alliance and Global Head of Planning & Partnerships, Home IoT Business, Samsung Electronics (above), said: “A simple and secure connected home has been a long-standing dream for the industry, and it is time to make it a reality. Consumer homes are filled with long-life appliances and systems from multiple manufacturers. Consumers should have the flexibility to purchase and use multiple brands of appliances that work together and not be locked into a single platform.

“We believe that manufacturers who truly understand their consumers’ needs, will lead the way in building an interoperable connected home ecosystem.”

Uncompromising safety and data privacy

Along with interoperability, consumer safety and data privacy are key pillars of HCA’s mission. Driven by the exponential growth of big data, consumer privacy and data protection have become top priorities for device manufacturers. New smart features on connected devices (like remote diagnostics, remote start/stop, etc.) provide a new layer of convenience. However, unauthorized access to such features would lead to consumer dissatisfaction and mistrust. Connected device manufacturers hold the responsibility to protect consumers from these risks and to safeguard data generated by these devices.

In addition, complex smart devices with moving and mechanical parts–including those with high voltage electrical components and heating elements–require safety expertise from companies that understand these devices best. Leveraging the collective background, experience and knowledge across its manufacturer membership base, HCA will prioritize consumer safety in the digital landscape.

Katherine Shin, Secretary at Home Connectivity Alliance and Vice President of Customer Experience for the Residential HVAC and Supply business at Trane Technologies, provides said, “Forming this alliance allows us to re-envision the power of smart and personalized comfort. Imagine a scenario in which your home appliances and HVAC system recognize your family’s lifestyle patterns and automatically adjust their settings to maximize comfort, reduce energy consumption, and deliver the ideal smart home experience. Not only is this beneficial for the consumer; utility companies can better manage peak demand and manufacturers can provide more energy-efficient products. Together we are building a more sustainable future.”

“We also recognize that smart products collect a lot of data, which makes this scenario possible, yet must be utilized in a secure environment. HCA aims to be the collective voice for home electronics data privacy, where we will agree upon industry standards to protect our consumers’ data.” 

Innovation and thought leadership in the connected home space

HCA members have the opportunity to innovate, influence industry trends, share expertise across peers and become leaders in expanding the connected home ecosystem.

Through collaboration with other standards organizations and governing entities, HCA promises to foster fair competition and drive innovation to provide the safest, most feature-rich connected home experience for consumers. 

Nihat Bayız, Chief Production & Technology Officer at Arçelik said, “As a technology first business and a trusted lifestyle solutions provider, Arçelik is proud to be a founding member of the Home Connectivity Alliance, working alongside other leading global brands to create a seamless smart home ecosystem. In an increasingly data-driven and digital world, consumer safety needs to be prioritized. To help tackle these areas and safeguard customer data, we’re excited to support cross platform interoperability with HCA cloud-to-cloud scheme that is set to not only make our users’ lives easier, but also help them feel more secure in their digital homes.”

Ola Nilsson, Group CXO and Executive Vice President, The Electrolux Group said,

“Electrolux is focused on sustainable consumer experience innovation that can help shape living For the Better. As the number of connected products continues to grow in homes across the world, the need for cross brand interoperability increases to enable great consumer experiences. This is why we are happy to be part of HCA.”

Shawn Stover, Vice President, SmartHome Solutions, GE Appliances said, “Delivering continuous innovation has become critical in today’s digitally oriented world. The HCA will focus on the longer lifecycle of durable goods, how they integrate in someone’s home and their everyday life. Flexibility and interoperability will be synonymous with the connected home and the work of the HCA will help enable ongoing innovation for cornerstone appliances and systems within the home.”

Jerry Liu, Global Chief Digital Officer, Haier Smart Home Co said “The home appliances are important for everyday life. They have unique characteristics and requirements in the connected home environment. We’re glad that HCA is going to create a collective voice of the industry. Haier looks forward to contributing its deep expertise on appliance connectivity, data security and physical safety with HCA member companies to provide global customers a better experience.”

To learn more about the Home Connectivity Alliance, membership benefits and how to join, please visit www.homeconnectivityalliance.org.

Source: Home Connectivity Alliance (HCA)

Wireless IoT Forum Announces Founding Board

30 June 2015 – The Wireless IoT Forum, a body working to accelerate the wide scale adoption of wireless wide-area networking technologies dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced its founding members and board. The Forum’s board comprises: Accenture, Arkessa, BT, Cisco, Telensa and WSN.

The forum’s mandate is to remove fragmentation and drive consolidation around a minimal set of standards for both licensed and license-exempt wireless solutions. The Forum aims to develop a clear set of requirements through engagement with end-users as well as a use-case driven roadmap for the ecosystem of technology companies, apps developers and operators.

The independent, not-for-profit organization aims to work with relevant stakeholders to agree core requirements that inform and accelerate understanding, standards development & consistent, supportive regulation. It will also work to promote and market wireless IoT to and for wireless network operators, infrastructure providers, fixed line network operators, application developers, utilities, semiconductor companies, radio technology providers, module developers, system integrators and end user organisations.

“The IoT market is gathering significant momentum around the globe, with new technologies and use cases being announced daily,” said William Webb, CEO, Wireless IoT Forum (above). “However the risk presented by fragmentation remains very real. Without widely-agreed open standards we risk seeing pockets of proprietary technology developing independently, preventing the benefits of mass-market scale. We are delighted today to be announcing our inaugural membership and to begin work to drive towards a collective view on the right way to deliver widespread IoT services.”

“The IoT is growing at an unrelenting pace, but it’s important that the entire ecosystem co-operates around open standards in order for it to reach its full potential,” said Aidan Quilligan, managing director, Accenture Digital Mobility. “That’s why it’s important that the Forum works with key ecosystem members from the start, in order to create the right conditions for the mass market, without duplicating the work being done by existing standards bodies. Open standards represent the only way to begin the process of overcoming fragmentation in the IoT, and as part of the Forum, we will help drive this forward.”

“As the success of the GSM standard in the mobile world showed, working to open industry standards is critical to creating the necessary situation for mass market success,” said Mark Harrop, Director, Business Development (Mobile Programme), BT. “By aligning the complete value chain in defining and promoting these standards the Wireless IoT Forum is ideally suited to make the Internet of Things a success.”

"IoT, and in particular smart cities, is a fast-growing applications market that combines innovative wireless solutions with new ecosystem combinations,” said Will Gibson, CEO of Telensa. "The WIoTF is committed to aligning a diverse group of industry pioneers around key common approaches, so that IoT can build on early success to reach its undoubted potential."

“We are excited to be a part of such a groundbreaking group of individuals and companies working together to drive the IoT agenda,” said Feng Guo, Director Solution Center, WSN Tech. “As key players in this space, we recognize the need for competition to create dynamic markets but also the need for collaboration when promoting and supporting standardization and interoperability. These conditions are key to ensuring successful and timely IoT deployment worldwide,”

The Forum is actively recruiting new members. For enquiries and more information about joining contact – info@wiotf.org

About the Wireless IoT Forum
The Wireless IoT Forum aims to drive the deployment of the Internet of Things worldwide by reducing fragmentation and through the promotion of open standards and an increased focus on the needs of end-users. The Forum has been created to encourage the widespread adoption of wireless wide-area networking technologies in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum. It will work with key stakeholders from across the value chain to agree requirements that inform and accelerate standards development and deployments. For further information visit www.wiotf.org.